David McKenzie

Research Fellow

World Bank

External Homepage CV

Research Interests

David McKenzie is a Lead Economist in the World Bank’s Development Research Group. Prior to joining the World Bank in 2005, he was assistant professor of Economics at Stanford University (2001-05). He received his B.Com(Hons)/B.A. from the University of Auckland, New Zealand in 1997 and his Ph.D. in Economics from Yale University in 2001. His specific areas of research interest include international migration, microenterprises,and the development of econometric methods useful for working with data from developing countries.

He joined IZA as a Research Fellow in July 2007.

His personal webpage is at: https://sites.google.com/site/decrgdmckenzie/

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IZA Publications

IZA Discussion Paper No. 17672
Long-Term and Lasting Impacts of Personal Initiative Training on Entrepreneurial Success
Francisco Campos, Michael Frese, Leonardo Iacovone, Hillary C. Johnson, David McKenzie, Mona Mensmann
forthcoming in: American Economic Review: Insights
IZA Discussion Paper No. 16537
Job Training and Job Search Assistance Policies in Developing Countries
Eliana Carranza, David McKenzie
published in: Journal of Economic Perspectives, 2024, 38 (1), 221–244
IZA Discussion Paper No. 16296
Can Information and Alternatives to Irregular Migration Reduce "Backway" Migration from The Gambia?
Tijan L. Bah, Catia Batista, Flore Gubert, David McKenzie
published in: Journal of Development Economics, 2023, 165, 103153.
IZA Discussion Paper No. 14717
Testing Classic Theories of Migration in the Lab
Catia Batista, David McKenzie
published in: Journal of International Economics, 2023, 145, 103826
IZA Discussion Paper No. 14337
How Has COVID-19 Affected the Intention to Migrate via the Backway to Europe and to a Neighboring African Country? Survey Evidence and a Salience Experiment in the Gambia
Tijan L. Bah, Catia Batista, Flore Gubert, David McKenzie
published as 'COVID-19 and Changes in Intentions to Migrate from The Gambia' in: Journal of African Economies, 2024, 33 (1), 1–19
IZA Discussion Paper No. 12624
Self-Employment and Migration
Samuele Giambra, David McKenzie
published in: World Development, 2022, 141, 105362
IZA Discussion Paper No. 10655
How Effective Are Active Labor Market Policies in Developing Countries? A Critical Review of Recent Evidence
David McKenzie
published in: World Bank Research Observer, 2017, 32(2), 127-54
IZA Discussion Paper No. 10615
Growing Markets through Business Training for Female Entrepreneurs: A Market-Level Randomized Experiment in Kenya
David McKenzie, Olga Susana Puerto
published in: American Economic Journal: Applied Economics, 2021 13 (2), 297-332
IZA Discussion Paper No. 10110
The Long-Term Impact of International Migration on Economic Decision-Making: Evidence from a Migration Lottery and Lab-in-the-Field Experiments
John Gibson, David McKenzie, Halahingano Rohorua, Steven Stillman
published in: Journal of Development Economics, 2019, 138, 99-115
IZA Discussion Paper No. 9492
The Long-Term Impacts of International Migration: Evidence from a Lottery
John Gibson, David McKenzie, Halahingano Rohorua, Steven Stillman
published in: World Bank Economic Review, 2018, 32(1), 127-47
IZA Discussion Paper No. 9487
The Demand for, and Impact of, Youth Internships: Evidence from a Randomized Experiment in Yemen
David McKenzie, Nabila Assaf, Ana Paula Cusolito
published in: IZA Journal of Labor and Development, 5:1, 2016
IZA Discussion Paper No. 8523
Evidence on Policies to Increase the Development Impacts of International Migration
David McKenzie, Dean Yang
published in: World Bank Research Observer, 2015, 30(2), 155-92
IZA Discussion Paper No. 8518
Testing the Importance of Search Frictions, Matching, and Reservation Prestige Through Randomized Experiments in Jordan
Matthew Groh, David McKenzie, Nour Shammout, Tara Vishwanath
published in: IZA Journal of Labor Economics, 2015, 4:7
IZA Discussion Paper No. 8059
The Impact of Vocational Training for the Unemployed: Experimental Evidence from Turkey
Sarojini Hirshleifer, David McKenzie, Rita K. Almeida, Cristobal Ridao-Cano
published in: Economic Journal, 2016, 126 (579), 2115 - 1246
IZA Discussion Paper No. 7402
A Helping Hand or the Long Arm of the Law? Experimental Evidence on What Governments Can Do to Formalize Firms
Gustavo Henrique de Andrade, Miriam Bruhn, David McKenzie
published in: World Bank Economic Review, 2016, 30 (1), 24-54
IZA Discussion Paper No. 7401
Eliciting Illegal Migration Rates through List Randomization
David McKenzie, Melissa Siegel
published in: Migration Studies, 2013, 1(3): 276-91
IZA Discussion Paper No. 6896
Business Training and Female Enterprise Start-Up, Growth, and Dynamics: Experimental Evidence from Sri Lanka
Suresh de Mel, David McKenzie, Christopher Woodruff
published in: Journal of Development Economics, 2014, 106: 199-210
IZA Discussion Paper No. 6895
What Are We Learning from Business Training and Entrepreneurship Evaluations around the Developing World?
David McKenzie, Christopher Woodruff
revised version published in: World Bank Research Observer, 2014, 29(1), 48-82
IZA Discussion Paper No. 6871
Miserable Migrants? Natural Experiment Evidence on International Migration and Objective and Subjective Well-Being
Steven Stillman, John Gibson, David McKenzie, Halahingano Rohorua
published in: World Development, 2015, 65, 79-93
IZA Discussion Paper No. 6498
Distortions in the International Migrant Labor Market: Evidence from Filipino Migration and Wage Responses to Destination Country Economic Shocks
David McKenzie, Caroline Theoharides, Dean Yang
published in: American Economic Journal: Applied Economics, 2014, 6(2), 49-75.
IZA Discussion Paper No. 6442
The Demand for, and Consequences of, Formalization among Informal Firms in Sri Lanka
Suresh de Mel, David McKenzie, Christopher Woodruff
published in: American Economic Journal: Applied Economics, 2013, 5 (2), 122-50
IZA Discussion Paper No. 5730
Eight Questions about Brain Drain
John Gibson, David McKenzie
published in: Journal of Economic Perspectives, 2011, 25 (3), 107-128
IZA Discussion Paper No. 5232
Natural Experiment Evidence on the Effect of Migration on Blood Pressure and Hypertension
John Gibson, Steven Stillman, David McKenzie, Halahingano Rohorua
published in: Health Economics, 2013, 22 (6), 655-672
IZA Discussion Paper No. 5125
Experimental Approaches in Migration Studies
David McKenzie, Dean Yang
published in: Carlos Vargas-Silva (ed.), Handbook of Research Methods in Migration, Edward Elgar Publishing, 2012, 249-269
IZA Discussion Paper No. 5124
The Economic Consequences of "Brain Drain" of the Best and Brightest: Microeconomic Evidence from Five Countries
John Gibson, David McKenzie
published in: Economic Journal, 2012, 122 (560), 339 - 375
IZA Discussion Paper No. 4534
Remittances and the Brain Drain Revisited: The Microdata Show That More Educated Migrants Remit More
Albert Bollard, David McKenzie, Melanie Morten, Hillel Rapoport
published in: World Bank Economic Review, 2011, 25 (1), 132 - 156
IZA Discussion Paper No. 4375
The Impacts of International Migration on Remaining Household Members: Omnibus Results from a Migration Lottery Program
John Gibson, David McKenzie, Steven Stillman
published in: Review of Economics and Statistics, 2011, 93 (4), 1297-1318
IZA Discussion Paper No. 3962
Innovative Firms or Innovative Owners? Determinants of Innovation in Micro, Small, and Medium Enterprises
Suresh de Mel, David McKenzie, Christopher Woodruff
IZA Discussion Paper No. 3926
The Microeconomic Determinants of Emigration and Return Migration of the Best and Brightest: Evidence from the Pacific
John Gibson, David McKenzie
published in: Journal of Development Economics, 2011, 95 (1), 18-29
IZA Discussion Paper No. 3743
Are Women More Credit Constrained? Experimental Evidence on Gender and Microenterprise Returns
Suresh de Mel, David McKenzie, Christopher Woodruff
published in: American Economic Journal: Applied Economics, 2009, 1(3), 1-32
IZA Discussion Paper No. 3511
Who Are the Microenterprise Owners? Evidence from Sri Lanka on Tokman v. de Soto
Suresh de Mel, David McKenzie, Christopher Woodruff
published in: Josh Lerner and Antoinette Schoar (eds.) International Differences in Entrepreneurship, NBER, 2010
IZA Discussion Paper No. 3179
Does It Pay Firms to Register for Taxes? The Impact of Formality on Firm Profitability
David McKenzie, Yaye Seynabou Sakho
published in: Journal of Development Economics, 2010, 91(1), 15-24
IZA Discussion Paper No. 3173
Surveying Migrant Households: A Comparison of Census-Based, Snowball, and Intercept Point Surveys
David McKenzie, Johan Mistiaen
published in: Journal of the Royal Statistical Society, Series A (Statistics in Society), 2009, 172 (2), 339-360
IZA Discussion Paper No. 2948
A Profile of the World's Young Developing Country Migrants
David McKenzie
published as 'A Profile of the World's Young Developing Country International Migrants' in: Population and Development Review, 2008, 34 (1), 115 - 135
IZA Discussion Paper No. 2934
Returns to Capital in Microenterprises: Evidence from a Field Experiment
Suresh de Mel, David McKenzie, Christopher Woodruff
published in: Quarterly Journal of Economics, 2008, 123 (4), 1329-1372
IZA Discussion Paper No. 2788
A Land of Milk and Honey with Streets Paved with Gold: Do Emigrants Have Over-Optimistic Expectations about Incomes Abroad?
David McKenzie, John Gibson, Steven Stillman
published in: Journal of Development Economics, 2013, 102, 116 - 127
IZA Discussion Paper No. 2087
How Important Is Selection? Experimental vs. Non-Experimental Measures of the Income Gains from Migration
David McKenzie, John Gibson, Steven Stillman
published in: Journal of the European Economic Association, 2010, 8(4), 913-945
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